The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers Salary Cap 2016-2017

By Bret Stuter

Jun 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo during an introduction press conference at the Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo during an introduction press conference at the Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA Announces a Salary Cap for 2016-2017 at $94.143 Million, with a $84.729 floor. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia 76ers will fall $36 Million short of that floor

Spend it if you have it. It’s burning a hole in your pocket.  A fool and his money are soon parted.

Well, that may not apply to the Philadelphia 76ers just yet, but they are in a tight spot when it comes to team finances.   Right now the team’s salary cap situation before any draft picks are signed or free agents are factored in has been calculated by our good friends over at basketball-reference.com at $33.377 Million for the 2016-2017 season.   Compare that to the league floor announced today:

If you want the entire announcement, it can be found here.

So we sit at $33.377 Million, but we do have the Jerryd Bayless contract to factor in, at 3 years and $27 Million.  That brings our total up to $42.377 Million.

Now we have those draft picks as well.   Those salaries have been established per the last Collective Bargaining Agreement signed in 2011.  For the Philadelphia 76ers, the three salaries for this year’s picks are as follows (if contract is signed to play for the team)
Ben Simmons –                          Picked first in 2016 NBA Draft – $4,919,300
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot    Picked 24th in 2016 NBA Draft –$1,144,500
Furkan Korkmaz                         Picked 26th in 2016 NBA Draft – $1,062,300

It’s likely that both Simmons and Luwawu are signed soon, which will bring the team salary up to $48,440,800.  That is still $36,288,200 shy of the NBA floor for the 2016-2017 season.  While it’s true that the team is not penalized for not spending up to that amount, as it will simply be distributed to the players on the payroll up to the floor amount, it’s senseless not to make use of it in some fashion.

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Sam Hinkie used that “excess capacity” to earn draft picks by taking on the contracts of overpaid players of other teams.  That type of exchange typically favored the Philadelphia 76ers greatly, as in the trade in 2015 of the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings.   With the salary cap increasing nearly $25 Million in one year, there is no great probability that teams will be in the market for a salary dump in the near term future.  But that can always change rapidly.  The winner of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes will likely be forced to shed players and salaries.

That includes a list of very good teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Boston Celtics.   To sign Durant, the surest way is to trade players to another team to clear the salary cap off their books, and typically comes with a fee of draft picks.

To sign Kevin Durant, it’s a small price to pay.  For the Philadelphia 76ers, right now the team is poised to capitalize.  If Durant goes to the Clippers, the team could snatch Sixth man Jamal Crawford on a max short term deal.  If Durant goes to the Golden State Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers have expressed interest in signing Harrison Barnes.   The same can be said if he stays with the Thunder or moves on to the Celtics.  To be signed, virtually each team will need to shed current players to make room.

And that mean new opportunity for the Philadelphia 76ers.  What will we do with that?  We’ll have over $36 Million to commit.  A max contract deal for a player at the level of Harrison Barnes would be pricey, but fall short of getting the Philadelphia 76ers to the floor.  Barnes max deal would come in a $25 Million / year.  That would still leave the team scrambling for another $11 Million to spend, if they were so minded.

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The Philadelphia 76ers may not be major players with the top names of the NBA this season, but they will be there soon enough.  For now, they need to show some savvy to spend wisely and take advantage of the opportunities that may present themselves. We projected the salary cap of the Philadelphia 76ers next year about three months ago, and this refines that projection in that we know that the team did not retain any of their expiring contract free agents.  At that time, the thought was that next year’s salary cap would come in at $89 Million.  It’s much higher.

For now, the Philadelphia 76ers can offer big contracts and sign players to reasonable deals.  Eventually, teams will overspend and the 76ers will be available with cap space for picks or for trades for valuable pieces.  It’s still a business driven by fear of losing.  Hopefully, we are not afraid to make the right choices.